By Sean Cronin
Coolmore and Westerberg's G2 Ribblesdale S. victrix Warm Heart (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}–Sea Siren {Aus}, by Fastnet Rock {Aus}) was defiant when battling to a career high in last month's G1 Yorkshire Oaks and displayed her fighting qualities once again to garner Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix Vermeille at ParisLongchamp.
As she had done on the Knavesmire, Warm Heart settled into a smooth rhythm racing off the pace in fourth, having broken from the stalls with her nose shaving the turf here. Making relentless headway under pressure in the straight, the 3-1 second favourite was driven along to launch her challenge passing the furlong pole and stayed on well under whipless rousting in the dying embers to withstand the persistent threat of G2 Prix de Pomone victrix Melo Melo (GB) (Gleneagles {Ire) by a short-neck. Yorkshire Oaks fifth Sea Silk Road (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) ran on to finish 1 3/4 lengths adrift in third for her first placing at the highest level.
“The race was a bit of a trappy contest,” explained winning rider James Doyle. “She exits the gates very well, but she slipped today and lost her action for a few strides, so I found myself a bit fenced-in and further back than I would have liked. They didn't go very fast and I was worried during the race, but she showed a lot of determination to come out on top. She doesn't really stop once in the lead, but tends to idle a bit and wait for the others, which is what she did in the Yorkshire Oaks and what she did again today. As for the Arc, her connections will decide. My feeling is that she needs good ground, being a light-actioned sort, and the going is therefore important in this regard. We've already seen editions of the Arc being run on fast ground, it can happen, but it's not common either.”
Francis-Henri Graffard, trainer of runner-up Melo Melo, added, “Melo Melo was conceding weight to the winner today, but we came up against a filly who was really a tough cookie. Looking to the future, she'll be better suited by much softer tracks. In any case, I think she delivered a great performance.”
Sea Silk Road's rider Tom Marquand expressed satisfaction with the run of his filly and commented, “She's a super filly and I'm very pleased with her performance. She had run a little freely in the Yorkshire Oaks and, one day, she'll win her Group 1 race when conditions come right for her. She's a classy filly.”
Reflecting on a long season and looking forward to another, Blue Rose Cen's trainer Christopher Head said, “She was in very good order in the first half of the season, but it's possible that the season has been a little long for the filly. We're going to talk to her owner, and see how she recovers, so we can look ahead to the future. She should stay in training next year, so we'll certainly be concentrating on her 2024 campaign.”
Pedigree Notes
Warm Heart is the fifth of eight foals and one of four scorers produced by G1 Manikato S., G1 Doomben 10,000 and G1 BTC Cup heroine Sea Siren (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), herself kin to the pattern-race winners Oratorio (Aus) (Stravinsky) and Lady Dehere (NZ) (Dehere). The February-foaled bay, whose third dam is G1 Karrakatta Plate heroine Hold That Smile (Aus) (Haulpak {Aus}), is a full-sister to G3 Derrinstown Stud Fillies S. runner-up Celestial Object (Ire) and the winning 2-year-old colt Bremen (Ire). She is also kin to a yearling colt by Camelot (GB) and a weanling colt by Home Affairs (Aus).
Warm Heart wins the Group 1 Qatar Prix Vermeille! Aidan O'Brien's Yorkshire Oaks star holds off Melo Melo under @the_doyler… pic.twitter.com/TdC2HMcwPK
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) September 10, 2023
Sunday, ParisLongchamp, France
QATAR PRIX VERMEILLE-G1, €600,000, ParisLongchamp, 9-10, 3yo/up, f/m, 12fT, 2:31.29, g/s.
1–WARM HEART (IRE), 123, f, 3, by Galileo (Ire)
1st Dam: Sea Siren (Aus) (MG1SW-Aus, SW & MGSP-Ire, $1,743,772), by Fastnet Rock (Aus)
2nd Dam: Express A Smile (Aus), by Success Express
3rd Dam: Hold That Smile (Aus), by Haulpak (Aus)
O-Mrs J Magnier, M Tabor, D Smith & Westerberg; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien; J-James Doyle. €342,840. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Eng, 8-5-1-0, €883,762. *Full to Celestial Object (Ire), GSP-Ire. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Melo Melo (GB), 131, f, 4, Gleneagles (Ire)–You Look So Good (GB), by Excellent Art (GB). 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. (110,000gns Wlg '19 TATFOA). O-Ecurie Ama.Zingteam; B-The Pocock Family (GB); T-Francis-Henri Graffard. €137,160.
3–Sea Silk Road (Ire), 131, f, 4, Sea The Stars (Ire)–Oriental Magic (Ger), by Doyen (Ire). 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. (190,000gns Ylg '20 TATOCT). O-Sunderland Holding Inc; B-Kildaragh Stud (IRE); T-William Haggas. €68,580.
Margins: SNK, 1 3/4, SNK. Odds: 3.00, 7.60, 31.00.
Also Ran: Rue Boissonade (Fr), Blue Rose Cen (Ire), Above The Curve, Pensee Du Jour (Ire), Crown Princesse (Fr). Video, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
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